1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an inkjet textile printing method and an inkjet textile printing apparatus.
2. Related Art
A known inkjet printer forms an image on a recording medium by ejecting ink from a nozzle toward the recording medium. There is also a known technology (hereinafter called “inkjet textile printing”) for using a fabric as the recording medium and using an inkjet printer to print on the fabric by ejecting ink onto the fabric. Inkjet textile printing is advantageous over such other textile printing methods as screen printing, roller printing, roller screen printing, and transfer printing because inkjet printing does not require fabrication of a printing plate like those other methods do and, thus, more easily accommodates high-mix low-volume production. Inkjet textile printing is also advantageous in that it incurs a smaller amount of waste liquid.
In inkjet textile printing, there are known technologies for improving image quality by using transparent inks in addition to inks containing coloring materials. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 06-10278 discloses a technology related to an inkjet printing method for printing on a sheet-like item, wherein at least one of a plurality of inkjet nozzles is a dedicated nozzle for a colorless ink that contains a medium that can disperse or dissolve a coloring matter and does not contain a coloring matter and the method serves to apply an ink containing a coloring matter and a version of the colorless ink having compatibility with the coloring matter-containing ink to a portion of a printing area of the item where a light color or color leveling is necessary. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2010-65209 discloses technology for a textile printing inkjet ink set and an inkjet textile printing method, wherein the textile printing inkjet ink set comprises a recording ink containing a reactive dye, a water-soluble organic solvent, and water and a transparent ink containing a water-soluble macromolecular material and an inorganic base. The textile printing inkjet ink set and the inkjet textile printing method enable inkjet printing onto fabric that has not been pre-treated so as to produce high color densities while suppressing bleeding and mixing of ink. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-181804 discloses a technology for removing foreign matter and froth from inside an inkjet head. In order to reliably discharge foreign matter inside the inkjet head and reduce work performed by hand, a rotating part of a stationary table supporting the inkjet head is rotated and cleaning is executed in a manner suitable to the direction of the head. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 06-320743 discloses a technology related to an inkjet textile printing apparatus configured to wipe an ink ejecting surface of a head using a so-called wiper ring treatment in order to prevent ink that has adhered to the ink discharge surface from adhering to a print medium and to prevent discharge variation of the ink discharged a plurality of nozzles. The technology serves to shorten the execution time of the wiper rink treatment.